Coahoma Bulldogettes beat Holliday 7-4 to complete sweep, advance to state
Coahoma and Holliday traded blow for blow for the majority of Saturday’s Game 2 of the Region I-3A final at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.
The Bulldogettes and Lady Eagles were tied 4-4 in the late innings until Coahoma got the spark it needed to break the stalemate. Freshman Neveah Kerby hit a go-ahead RBI double in the sixth inning to give Coahoma a 5-4 lead.
The Bulldogettes didn’t look back, adding two insurance runs in the seventh to win 7-4 and clinch the sweep.
The win, just two days after their 5-1 Game 1 victory, sends Coahoma to its first state tournament appearance since 2008.
“Our girls did good, man,” Coahoma head coach Alexander Orosco said. “I’m super proud of them.”
Coahoma (32-4-1) came into the game with a strong approach in the batter’s box, as the Bulldogettes finished with 12 hits.
After falling behind 1-0 early, Madison Rodgers sparked Coahoma’s offense with a solo home run to tie the game 1-1 in the third inning.
“I came up to bat knowing I could do anything I put my mind to,” Rodgers said.
Holliday answered with two runs in the bottom of the third, but the Bulldogettes had a response. They scored three on four hits in the top of the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. Holliday scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the frame, though, to tie it at
Two innings later, Kerby belted the go-ahead hit to left field, giving Coahoma a lead it never surrendered.
A freshman batting ninth in the order, Kerby showed the poise of an upperclassman as she came through with the timely base knock.
“I just wanted to get on,” Kerby said. "Find a gap somewhere, hit it hard. And it worked.”
The next inning, Coahoma plated two insurance runs on three hits to expand the Bulldogettes’ cushion to three runs.
Miscues in the field, though, kept the Lady Eagles in it. Coahoma recorded three errors in the last two innings and finished the game with seven.
The Bulldogettes bent but didn’t break. They got out of two runners-on situations in a row to seal the three-run win.
“Holliday put us in some pressure situations,” Orosco said. “It was rough, the errors happened, but they came out to play. We never let it get away from us.”
Rodgers said, “We’re a family. We picked each other up when we were down and that’s what helped us win.”
Exceptional pitching from freshman ace Hannah Wells also pushed Coahoma to victory.
Wells pitched a complete game, allowing only one earned run on five hits. She finished the game with 14 strikeouts.
Offensively, Kerby, Wells, Brynn Rodgers and Christian Everett each had two hits.
For Holliday, Addison Lindemann picked up the loss, giving up seven earned runs on 12 hits. Payton Murray was the Lady Eagles’ top hitter with two knocks.
The Lady Eagles finish the season 32-4.
"It played out like two high-level teams trying to battle for state," Holliday coach Billy Arbogast said. “We got beat by a team that was better than us twice."
Coahoma enters the state tournament on a 22-game winning streak. The Bulldogettes swept Wall, Henrietta, Merkel and Bushland in the playoffs before beating Holliday.
They will play in the semifinals Wednesday at University of Texas’ Charline and Red McCombs Field. Time and opponent for that game are still to be determined.
With only three days separating Saturday's Game 2 against Holliday and their first game in Austin, the Bulldogettes are going to try and make the most of a short turnaround.
“We have to put in hard work before the big game,” Rodgers said. “This is everything we’ve been working for and we’re going to go win.”
Orosco added, “I’m sure it will be fast and furious, but it’s OK. We’ll deal with it.”
Carson Field is the area sports reporter for the Abilene Reporter-News. He covers primarily Big Country high school sports. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to reporternews.com.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Coahoma Bulldogettes complete sweep of Holliday, advance to state
